Ten Souls
by 11Sprinkles
Summary: Dipper comes to Gravity Falls with his sister Mabel for the summer. But as they are still settling in to the place, he discovers a journal in a metal box caked in dirt in the forest during a game of hide and seek. It's surprising, but not as surprising as when he discovers something has been sealed inside of it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I got the idea for this a while ago.**

**I don't own Gravity Falls or anything associated with it.**

**Please read and review! That would be awesome. I'm actually only a few paragraphs away from finishing the second chapter, so it'll be up maybe even tonight.**

* * *

**Prologue**

It was a night that would decide their world's fate.

Ten men, all in their group's traditional robes, pulled their hoods over their heads. Tonight they would have to attempt to prevent the destruction of everything they know. The red cloth of their robes appeared brighter in the misty darkness.

Corvus, the leader of their important group, slowly walked forward. His hood was still down, folding at his shoulders. "Today," He said with a deep voice, raising his arms, "We will have to carry out the plan."

His voice resonated throughout the forest, sending shivers down everyone's spines. They all knew of what would become of them during this plan, but decided to ignore it for the sake of this plan. They all mumbled their approval except for one man.

"Impossible! This is impossible! Do you not realize the sheer power you are hoping to contain?" He looked at his leader with terror on his face. He is one of many who have seen such unspeakable horrors.

"If we do not try, then the consequences shall be devastating. We all know of his plans. And of course I know what he can do. I believe I have found something that will finally work." He looked around at everyone, making sure they knew what they were up against. Everyone solemnly stared at him, hiding most of their faces under their hoods.

They were the original Society of the Blind Eye, founded in 1457. Their name carved fear in everyone's hearts. But they were not the ones to be feared.

The leader kneeled down to light the candles carefully, lest he destroy the circle of markings around them. The trap. It was the strongest devil trap they could create, but even it wouldn't hold long against him.

Corvus lit the last candle. All eight shone brightly in the dimness of the forest. He held up an old book of incantations, and recited the summoning spell.

_"Triangulum, Entangulum, meteforis dominus ventium,meteforis venetisarium!"_ He shouted to the sky. The candles blew out as an unnatural wind blew through, shaking the trees violently. The men held their hoods on. It was customary for rituals. They gazed up to the dark sky and saw a triangle shape, outlined by flames, appear above them. It was impossible for the demon to refuse a summoning, even if he knew who his summoner was. Everyone looked down, as their leader would be the one to speak with him.

An eye in the triangle opened. Seeing the men in robes directly below him, he converted himself to his normal shape, top hat and all. Immediately upon the demon appearing in the trap, it activated.

Corvus stood still for a few seconds before raising his hand in the air, signaling the others to be still. The circle trap began glowing red and formed an invisible, thin barrier around the triangle. He narrowed his eye in amusement.

Their leader stepped forward. "Demon, we are well aware of what you plan to do to our world. As our world's only true protectors, we cannot allow you to continue with your plan." His face was a mix of hatred and something else.

The demon narrowed his eye, still amused. "I see. So are you people some sort of wizards? Are you going to wave a wand at me or something, or do you actually have a reason to summon me?"

Corvus got a confused look on his face, as did everyone else. Ignoring the first part of the demon's speech, he replied, "We have an obvious reason. We are to prevent you from destroying us."

"How?" The triangle poked at the thin barrier, making ripples in it. "With this pathetic excuse for a trap?

You guys have always been hilarious." He glared at them, glowing brighter yellow.

Fearfully, some of the men bent their heads down, forcing themselves not to move. Corvus reassured them. "Do not be afraid. The barrier does seem weak, but it would still take much effort to destroy it. Remember what I have told you before."

The demon rolled his eye. "Again, hilarious. What did you tell them before? Now I'm curious."

The other men stood in place, some nodding to each other at their leader's words. Ignoring the dream-demon's words, Corvus looked up at him. Here it would all end. No more would they fear death by his hand. The leader opened the old spell book to the last page, where a sloppy note was written. A sealing spell for even the most powerful of creatures. But the triangle demon was different from even the more devastating of them. He had been unsure of if it would work from the beginning, but it was their only chance.

He held up the book, and began to recite a new incantation.

_"__Signa autem, malum coram, intra obiectum! Incarcerare eum!" _

The other ten men began to shout,"_Incarcerare eum!" _after him, repeating it in a chant. The unnatural wind grew harsher as another spell took place. Taken by surprise, the demon looked around at them all, and looked down below him. On the ground, in the center of the ring of candles and the circle of the devil trap, was a book with a hand shape on it. For the first time since before he could remember, he actually felt helpless. The barrier was thin but would take a lot of power to escape from. The imprisoning incantation was already taking place. Would he be sealed away in a book of all places?

_Impossible… where did they get that spell from? It's too powerful for their time. It's as if they…_

Corvus put his hood over his head and raised his arms, chanting the same thing as the rest. Normally even a sealing spell as strong as this would not be able to contain the dreaded triangle demon, but they had all decided that they would be using something of their own to ensure his long imprisonment. Their lives. Souls used to strengthen a spell made the spell last much longer. All of their souls, totaling eleven, would ensure that the demon would not be able to escape for many, many centuries. And demons being creatures of darkness and evil, they are unable to break the bonds of a soul entrapping them.

"You are all insane. Do you even know what you are about to do?!" The demon shouted at them, panicking. They paid no attention, continuing to chant. Blue light wisped around the barrier, and the book lifted into the air. "Well… you obviously do…"

"You people… you don't understand anything. You will do whatever it takes to protect your world, but you can't stop its destruction." He looked at the book he was being imprisoned in. It was opening to several random pages. "And when I escape, I will ensure that your descendants will suffer. They'll suffer for your actions. None of man-made rituals can contain me for long."

His words did nothing to dissuade them. None of them faltered or lost pace with their chanting. They had all realized the importance of what they were about to do. In the future, they must have stronger incantations or rituals. They will definitely be able to hold him off better than they can, or so they thought. The book began to give off a bright white light and the triangle demon felt a pulling sensation. The spell was pushing him into the object, and their souls would act as the glue.

_Souls. _

One by one, the original members of the society fell. Light wisped out of them and wrapped around the book, binding it tightly.

"Haha, giving away their lives to prevent the inevitable… you gotta love humans sometimes…" The demon laughed. But at the same time, he felt a burning need for vengeance. How stupid he had been to laugh at them when they had been planning this all along. He had underestimated the group of the world's "protectors." His plans would have to wait.

_It doesn't matter. Even if the binding lasts for a millennium, eventually some idiot will free me._


	2. Chapter 2

"This'll be your room, kiddos." Their Grunkle Stan said, pushing the door to the attic open. Mabel squealed, dropping her bags on the floor.

"Wow, a room in the attic! This is awesome, right Dipper?" She fell onto her bed, swishing her arms around like she was making a snow angel.

"Yeah, this is pretty great. Thanks Grunkle Stan." Dipper grinned at him, dropping his bags on the ground next to Mabel. He started to unpack his things and shove them in different places, trying to get settled in.

"When you guys are done getting used to this place, you can come downstairs. I'm doing tours most of the day, but you guys can help Wendy run the Gift Shop." He walked out of the room to get dressed.

Mabel stopped swishing her arms and stuck her tongue out at the sound of work. "Aw, why did we come here for the summer if we're just gonna work for Stan and his fake mysteries?" She flopped around on the bed, rolling back and forth.

"I think it's cool we came here. You know, there have been a lot of theories going around this place. Maybe we'll actually find something fun to do when we're not working." He placed a few of his own books on a shelf.

"You mean like paranormal things? Pshaw." She drew pictures in the air. "You can't really believe rumors like that, especially in this rinky-dink town."

"Aren't you going to unpack your things?" Dipper glanced at her.

"Nah, I'll do it later." She stood up and started walking out the door. "Come on, let's go do something!" She grinned and started running down the stairs.

"Mabel, wait!" Dipper began to forcefully stuff things away to hurry up. He threw his bag down and ran after her.

* * *

Gravity Falls really did turn out to be a strange town. Everywhere Dipper looked, he could spy weird things. Overly hairy people, small unknown creatures in the forest, and glimpses of strange lights in the forest… basically everything weird seemed to happen in the forest.

They hadn't been in the forest yet, but it had only been a couple of days. A couple days spent busily stocking the gift shop and watching Stan rip people off while blatantly lying to them. What a terrific summer they were already having.

"Dipper, check this out!" Mabel was suddenly right next to him, balancing a spoon on her nose. Dipper looked at her dully. Soos was watching her intently. "Dude. How did you do that?"

The spoon fell off her nose. "Aw…" Mabel sighed. She reached down to pick it up and then noticed her brother's bored expression.

"Bro bro, why don't you just leave? We can go to the roof with Wendy or something. You're covering for her so she can be lazy, right?" She tried to convince him, elbowing him in the shoulder with a smile on her face.

He shook his head. "If I leave, I'll just be smacked in the head with a rolled up newspaper by Stan." He slumped lower onto the desk.

"Dude, there are no customers in here anyway. And Stan's out doing a tour." The handyman told him, gesturing to the door. Dipper stared at them blankly as they widened their eyes in expectation.

Giving in, Dipper sat up and jumped off the chair. "Fine, let's go do something." He grinned at them. They cheered, and followed him outside.

"Let's play hide and seek!" Mabel shouted loudly, ecstatic. She pumped her fists in the air.

"Ooh, I want to be the seeker. I am the king of all seekers." Soos made a semi-serious expression and made a saluting gesture with his hand.

"I think Dipper should be the first seeker." Mabel squinted at her brother. "You've wanted to explore the forest for a long time, right?"

"Ah, whatever. I'll count to 30." Dipper turned to the wall and started counting. "1, 2, 3, 4…"

Mabel smiled at Soos and ran off in a random direction. After 30 seconds, Dipper finished counting and looked around. He eagerly stepped towards the edge of the forest. It constantly felt like there was something hiding in there when he got close, watching him. Who knows what might be in there? If any of the rumors could be held to truth, then there were terrifying things in there. Pushing any of those thoughts in his mind away and focusing on the adventure, he entered the forest.

It was mildly damp in the woods, and kind of misty, but it wasn't much else, much to his disappointment.

"Mabel?! Soos?" He yelled. Of course, they probably wouldn't respond since they were hiding, but it seemed like he should yell out their names. There weren't any good hiding spaces in these woods, and he should be able to see them a good ways away. He squinted, looking for any bright colors, signifying his sister's presence. Nothing but mistiness and greenish brown as far as the eye could see in the mist.

He spent a good ten minutes searching, and eventually stopped really trying. If he went too far into the forest, he would easily get lost, so he slowed down and leaned against a tree to try and gather his bearings. What a stupid idea, playing a game of hide and seek in a giant forest surrounding their home. He hit his head against the tree in annoyance. Then he turned away and started walking in the direction he _thought _he might have come from.

"Mabel? I give up, so come out already- Ah!" Dipper staggered over a pile of dirt on the ground. A giant lump. It looked like a rock that had had dirt eroded off of its sides, allowing it to stick straight up out of the ground. Regaining his balance, he looked at the dirt and scowled. What was in there, anyway? It didn't look like some naturally forming dirt mound. Now curious, he turned to face it and bent down, doing his best to scrape off the dirt. It was hard-packed together around something. As he uncovered it, he saw that it appeared to be metal. A metal box.

A metal box? It could be a time capsule from the past, or a box containing something top secret, or…

He yanked the box out of the mound, causing dirt to fly everywhere. Brushing it off carefully and blowing the excess dust off of it, he examined it for any special markings. On the bottom was what appeared to be an eye with an X over it, crossing it out. Weird. He clicked the box open, surprised it had no lock.

Inside was a dusty book with a handprint shape on it. The book had seen almost no wear, looking almost as good as new. He carefully lifted it out of the box and turned it over. Nothing on the bottom. He flipped it open to inspect its pages.

Handwritten notes and drawings. A journal, written by someone a long time ago. Pictures of creatures he could only imagine littered the pages.

_Wow… I can't believe I found this… it looks like it would belong in a museum or something!_

He lifted it up to see it better in the sunlight. Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad after all. It seemed like he could actually have an adventure for once. And it would all start with this book.

His moment of excitement ceased when the book burst into blue flames.

Laughter filled the air from an unknown source, causing Dipper to freeze. He dropped the book on the ground as a reflex after seeing the fire. But somehow it didn't burn his hands, in fact it seemed otherworldly and cool to the touch. He looked up and around at the trees. The mistiness had gotten deeper and harder to see through.

**This is new. Who are you supposed to be?**

Not knowing what to say to a strange voice in his head, he kept silent, still in the kneeling position. He picked up the book again, trembling, bracing himself for another burst of blue flames.

**There are no more flames. Those just appeared because you woke me up. It's been a long time, hasn't it…**

"Who and where are you?!" Dipper shouted, looking around.

**My name's Bill Cipher. And it looks like you've happened upon my book.**

Dipper looked down at the book. "Wait, this is yours…? Sorry, I'll put it back-"

**NO! That's the WORST thing you could do in this situation. Open the book to the back of it.**

He did what the voice told him to do, flipping the pages to the back of the book. A note was scrawled there. Looked like the sort of silly wizard spell words you would see in kid's books or something. He mumbled the words to the spell softly to himself.

**Listen. Read those out loud. The louder the better.**

A voice in his head telling him to say words to some kind of incantation? Didn't seem like the most intelligent thing to do. "What will happen if I do?" Dipper said to himself, feeling less and less afraid of the entity due to the tone of his voice.

**I've been trapped in this journal for a long time. The people who imprisoned me left words in the back of it that can be used to break the enchantment, just in case that would be necessary. You're the first person to discover the book.**

A spirit creature imprisoned by people in a book decades ago by use of spells? This was getting better and better. Finally, supernatural things right in front of him! Unless he was just hallucinating. What a letdown that would be. He looked below the scrawled note. It read 'Only break enchantment if something goes wrong. Your life may depend on it.'

**You like supernatural things? I could show you all sorts of supernatural things. Ghosts? Spirits? Mythological beings? Whatever you want kid. Just say the words.**

Might not be the best idea. "Ehh… No thanks." He kicked the box away but held the book firmly in his arms, ready to go back to the shack. But wait, he couldn't let Mabel or anyone else see it. He hid it in his vest.

**What?! Just going to keep me in a dusty book forever? **

_That's the plan. _Dipper thought as he started back to the shack, stepping over twigs and various bushes.

**You're weird for a kid who's never seen supernatural things before. A normal kid would hear a voice in their head out of nowhere telling them to say some words and they would listen.**

"I've seen supernatural things before. In fact, for the past couple of days I've seen tons of weird things." Dipper said casually, recalling the strange things all over town.

**At least tell me the year before you go off on a pleasant adventure with me in tow?**

Dipper stopped walking and held out the book to talk to it. If anyone saw him like this they would think him insane. "You've really been in a book for so long that you can't keep track of time? It's 2012."

**Two thousand...twelve?**

"Yep. And I'm not letting you out of the book until… hm…" Dipper looked around, searching for his sister and the handyman. Nowhere in sight. _ I'm just gonna go back to the shack._ "Until I want to." He finished his sentence bluntly. A feeling of annoyance seemed to flood from the book.

* * *

"Dipper! Where were you?!" A higher pitched voice yelled. Mabel ran up to him in front of the shack, from the opposite side of the forest. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "No seriously, where were you. You're covered in scratches."

Dipper looked across from him and beyond Mabel, to the other side of the forest. _Aw, seriously…?_

"You went to the wrong side of the forest! We were hiding in the opposite side. Silly bro bro." Mabel giggled, amused at her brother's obliviousness.

He walked to the wall of the shack and hit his head again.

"Quit it, Dipper, you'll get splinters in your forehead. And we both remember how bad it was last time." Mabel rolled her eyes. Soos walked up behind her, half of a bird's nest attached to his shirt.

"Dude, I just hid in a tree for like, 20 minutes. Not cool." The handyman rubbed his stomach through his giant shirt. "I'm gonna go eat some pizza, guys. See you later." He went back inside the shack to probably watch TV.

Mabel patted Dipper on the back. "Come on, let's watch TV. Unless you wanna play hide and seek again. Maybe this time you'll pay attention." She grinned mischievously and dodged an annoyed swipe from her brother. Laughing, she opened the door to go inside and left him alone.

Dipper sighed, shaking his head, and decided to go back inside. But he would have to return to gift shop duty, not watch TV. He froze when the voice spoke to him again, he'd almost forgotten it.

**If you aren't going to let me out of the journal anytime soon, could we maybe make a deal? Deals are my specialty.**

"A deal with you…? What are you anyways?" He had actually forgotten to ask.

**What do you think I am? A ghost trying to make deals? Ghosts are completely useless.**

"So… a demon then?" He had read all about demons. How they love to mess with your head and destroy things, how they loved to make deals and trick you into it. And how they loved to twist their words. Also they weren't really regarded as the most trustworthy type. "Yeah right. Like I'd trust something like you."

**Aw, that hurts my feelings.**

"If what I've read is true, you don't even have feelings to be hurt." Dipper scoffed, making his way to the door and reaching for the knob, pulling it open.


End file.
